True comedy can break any language barrier. That’s what we think after watching this late 1980s ad for the Citroen Visa GTI anyway. Which, despite our marginal French skills, we found both hilarious and completely riveting. Get your French Navy on with the vintage advert above.
What do you get when you mix the style and personality of a French icon, with the spirit and muscle of an American hot rod? If you’re Jeff Meyer of Windsor, California you get this ridiculously cool, slammed 1966 Citroen ID19 Pro Touring car.
The car is a Citroen by appearance only at this point, having been almost completely modified from stock under the skin. The biggest change was the replacement of the Maserati-sourced four-cylinder engine with a slightly brawnier LS1 V-8. The General Motors powerplant has been gently tuned to make around 400 horsepower and hooked up to a sturdier GM automatic transmission as well. That also means that the former front-driver is now powered by the rear wheels and sports a rather large transmission tunnel where none used to be.
While Gallic purists will certainly take issue with the mechanical retrofit, it’s harder to argue with the finished product, which is meaner and more sporting than Citroen had ever intended. Likewise the Teal Tease paint may not be right for everyone, but we think the color is at least well-suited to the boldness of the hot rod. Take a closer look at the ’66 Citroen in our gallery below and then tell us how the car strikes you, in comments.
+ Hot Rod: Jeff Meyer’s Pro Touring 1966 Citron ID19
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With sad clowns, a Citroen, and a Bon Jovi ballad, this commercial for the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival may move beyond being simply funny, and into the realm of true comedic art. Click through the link below to watch the video and judge for yourself, and then give us your opinion, in comments.
+ Ad Age: Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival: Bon Jovis
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We’ve seen plenty of vintage car commercials that make us scratch our heads in bewilderment, but after seeing this vintage spot for a Citroen CX, we’re sporting some deep scars in our scalp.
We’re sure Citroen hired actress/singer/Bond bad girl Grace Jones to match the CX’s techno-chic image - quite sensible for ’80s-era French consumers. What we’re still trying to make sense of is why Jones would pop the clutch, and launch the Turbo into the mouth of a giant-sized anamatronic replica of herself while screaming her love for the five-door.
We’re not saying all French automotive fare isn’t worth a taste (we know of at least one that is), but after watching this ad repeatedly, we’re left with some severe Gallic indigestion. Zut alors…
This nicely kept up 1971 Citroen Mehari, is a 2CV-based (and by every measure very French) take on a sport utility vehicle.
The lightweight truck is absolutely stripped of modern convenience, lacking seatbelts, doors, and currently, working windshield wipers. The Mehari also lacks the ability to cruise on the highway, or as the slightly foreign-sounding seller puts it, “the lack of high speed which it does not have.”
As with standard 2CV’s however, what the Mehari lacks in sophistication, it makes up for in charm. The little Citroen would seem to be the perfect recreational companion for warmer climes, and a great car to drive to the beach. Plenty of room for surfboards too.
+ eBay Motors: 1971 Citroen Citroen/Mehari CitroenMehar
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Launched in 1935, Peugeot’s swoopy 402 was certainly an attention-grabbing automobile, but it was the 402 convertible - like this 1938 example currently listed on eBay - that stole the limelight from other French marques.
In lieu of a standard fabric top, the 402 ‘vert made do with what may be the first retractable hardtop system. Designed by a Parisian dentist in the early 1930s, the design was purchased by Peugeot explicitly for the streamlined 402. Nicknamed the “Éclipse,” Peugeot built no more than 500 examples between 1936 and 1940.
(Click through for more on the Éclipse, including a gallery)
Coming to market as a successor to the legendary DS, Citroen’s SM had some fairly large, and oddly beautiful shoes to fill from the very first. While the DS has gone on to become the very epitome of French style, and iconoclastic engineering, the SM has suffered relative obscurity.
It’s that lack of recognition that makes finds like this 1972 SM on eBay Motors even more precious. With just over 60,000 miles on the clock, the SM is a nicely worn testimony to the unparalleled style of classic French cars. Even today the SM’s cabin looks extravagant and chic, with sleek (if breaking down) leather bucket seats, horizontal slotted shift gate, and brilliantly obscure oval faced gauges.
One important factor that the SM shares with its DS progenitor (in addition to the swiveling headlights, and hydropneumatic suspension), is a road presence that’s virtually unmatched by modern cars. The long low silhouette of the car, exaggerated to fantastic effect by the anachronistic rear skirts, will make the new owner a minor celebrity wherever he or she pilots the slinky SM.
+ eBay Motors: 1972 Citroen SM
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Peugeot is said to be ramping up its efforts to break Audi’s stranglehold on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, by adding a third car manned by Formula One talent for the 2008 running of the French classic.
BMW-Sauber test driver Christian Klien will join Honda tester Alex Wurz, Toyota’s Franck Montagny, former champion Jacques Villeneuve, and Ricardo Zonta to form a powerful endurance racing team.
Peugeot made the announcement today, three days into its testing program at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France.
Said Klien, “This is my first experience of driving a sports prototype and to have the chance to be in a really competitive car at the most famous sports car race in the world is a wonderful opportunity.”
+ F1-Live: F1 drivers join Le Mans assault
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We’ve heard the “keep it simple, stupid” mantra time and time again, but we’d argue that the Citroen 2CV was the most extreme application of that credo in the automotive world (heck, even the earliest Volkswagen Beetles had a fuel gauge). That said, it worked - the deux cheveaux won the hearts of not only the French people, but many across continental Europe and even South America, serving as a surprisingly reliable workhorse for many.
Although the very last 2CV rolled off a Portuguese assembly line in 1991, 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the tin snail’s launch at the 1948 Paris Motor Show. Although Citroen is mum on any official celebration (we’ll bet a few examples make their way to the company’s stand during October’s Paris show), the jovial folks at Retromobile - the gigantesque celebration of all things automotive - will be celebrating all this week.
(Click through for more on the 2CV, along with a gallery of historic images)
A perfect sunny winter’s day in Tuscany, a fast drive in a sexy French prototype, and plates and glasses filled with regional sustenance all play a role in our recurring dream of a great day at work. We already sampled versions of the Peugeot 308 before and after its public debut at September’s Frankfurt show, so we know it has become much more of a driver’s car than the 307 ever was. This day on two-lane roads through central Italy with the 308 RC Z coupe prototype—also shown at Frankfurt—confirmed exactly how distant a memory the 307 is.
In its first full year of mass production, the Peugeot 207 has become the best selling car in Europe. In 2007, it sold 437,505 units, placing ahead of the oft to be reckoned with Volkswagen Golf.
Since its limited launch in June 2006 in the UK, Peugeot has introduced three additional packages to the already standard three- and five-door hatchbacks – the 207 CC, the 207 GTi THP 175, and the 207 SW.
Now, the French Peugeot 207 didn’t fair as well in the UK as it did in other parts of Europe. It placed sixth in sales. Still, it’s the best selling French car in the UK.
The Peugeot 207 starts at $18,490 for the three-door 1.4L version up to $34,690 for the CC GT HDi.
+ The Auto Channel: Peugeot 207 Number 1 in Europe
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The opening event of the 2008 World Rally Championship season has come to a record-setting conclusion this afternoon, with Citroen driver Sebastian Loeb clinching a fifth career win of the Monte Carlo Rally.
Loeb built a massive lead from almost the very beginning of the rally, running first from the second stage on Thursday evening. The Frenchman ended his final stage with a massive lead of 2 minutes and 34 seconds over second-place Mikko Hirvonen of Ford.
Understandably pleased with the result, Loeb called the win a “big, big victory.” Going on to say, “We had a very good lead, we were faster than everybody on the whole rally. But last year it was the same and the rest of the season was a lot more complicated.”
Subaru driver Chris Atkinson won a hard-fought victory for the last podium spot, barely edging Francois Duval for third-place. The finish represented Subaru’s first podium finish since last season’s Portugal rally.
+ Autosport: Loeb clinches record Monte win
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